Installing A Magellan Integrated Ford F150 Navigation System

This is
part one in a series of articles detailing the installation and use
of a Magellan Integrated Ford F-150 navigation system in our Roush
F-150 project truck. We’ll leave the details of this system’s
features and use for a later article and concentrate on the
installation procedure first.

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1: The stock dash

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2: The Magellan Integrated Ford F150 Navigation System

We were
informed that the installation was easy, and we can confirm that.
Practically anyone with 15-30 minutes to spare and the ability to
turn a wrench can install it.

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3: Pull back the top of the dash panel. It will take a little bit
of pressure but once the first snap-fitting comes loose the rest is
easy.

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4: Pull down along the edges until all 6 snap-fittings are undone.

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5: Disconnect the wires at the top/right of the dash panel (note
that the panel is being held upside-down in this photo). You can
now move this panel back and out of the way.

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6: Remove the two bolts holting the dash tray in place.

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7: Lift up and remove the dash tray.

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8: Put the Magellan unit in place and feed the wiring behind the
radio. There is plenty of space for this. The Magellan has a USB
connector on it like the universal units do. Just in case we ever
need to update the unit, we secured a USB cable to it and fed it
behind the radio along with the Magellan wiring. Currently Magellan
does not document use of this port on the F-150 unit, but for $5.00
and 30 seconds extra time its good insurance in case they make
updates available.

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9: Here’s the Magellan wiring behind the sound system. The wire
highlighted in yellow is the USB cable. You easily drop this down
to the right so it’s accessible behind the passenger side center
console kick panel.

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10: Disconnect the sound system wiring harness. Connect the
Magellan to the vehicle harness, then connect the sound system
harness into the other end of the Magellan harness.

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11: Using the two bolts you removed in step 4, secure the Magellan
in place.

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12: Reconnect the wires you disconnected in step 3. Turn the
ignition to the “on” position before securing the dash
panel. Make sure it powers up correctly before securing the panel!

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13: Push the dash panel back in place, making sure all 6 connectors
snap in place. Then enter your street address into the unit and
leave the power on for 15 minutes. This will allow the unit to sync
up with as many satellites as possible.

We found the installation extremely easy and unlike many universal GPS units the unit looks
like it belongs on our F-150. Our initial impression of the use and features of the unit are positive
and we’ll be following up this article with a detailed review of the unit. Overall, we’re very impressed with its features, functions,
ease of installation and OEM look.